To Do in Alcobaça
The main reason people visit, is to see the UNESCO World Heritage Site officially known as The Monastery of Santa Maria d'Alcobaça. Anyone can enter the main church for free but there is a small fee to tour the cloister and living quarters of the monks. This masterpiece of Cistercian Gothic art can also be toured as part of the Monastery Route which includes tours of the monasteries of Batalha and the Convent of Chirst in Tomar. The first Sunday of the month is free to see all parts of the Monastery of Alcobaça and it is the perfect day to visit. Watching families come and go in their Sunday best, while the church bells toll, is truly an experience to remember.
Take time to wander the historic center of Alcobaça until you have pieced together the Romeo and Juliet like story that gives context to the very beginning of the Portuguese monarchy. When you have learned all you can (hint: find the Garden of Love and read the plaques to get you started) about King Pedro I and his beloved Dona Inês de Castro, go back to the Monastery of Santa Maria d'Alcobaça and visit their tombs. It is then you will begin to feel the power of this place rushing from the past to meet you.
It is worth a stop at the Castle of Alcobaça simply to see
this beautiful city from a bird's-eye view. While most of the
castle was destroyed by a large earthquake in 1755, the seven
turrets and a Moorish watchtower, known as "Torre dos sete
sobrados," provide the perfect perch to watch the sun set over the
Portuguese countryside.